Upcoming Big-Budget Films: Quite Bigger Budget

There was a time when a ₹100 crore budget was considered a massive gamble in Indian cinema. When films like Om Shanti Om and Magadheera are made on that budget, people used to go jaw-dropped. Today, that number doesn’t even make it into the top league. The upcoming lineup of Indian films showcases how aggressively the industry is spending on these biggies to make them bigger.

Leading the race is Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana, mounted on a staggering ₹2200 crore budget, with a sequel, Ramayana 2, being made at ₹1800 crore. If both films click, Indian cinema could witness one of the biggest cinematic events in its history. Then comes SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi, reportedly being made on a whopping ₹1300 crore scale. These are not just movies anymore. They are long-term cinematic investments designed for theatrical, OTT, international, and franchise revenues.

The South industry continues to dominate the big-budget space, and that too, Telugu cinema. Allu Arjun’s Raaka, directed by Atlee, is reportedly being mounted on an ₹800 crore budget. Prabhas’ Kalki 2 is riding on the success of the first installment, and the makers are pouring nearly ₹700 crores. Then there is Jr NTR’s Dragon, and Prashanth Neel is making this film with a nearly ₹480 crore budget. Jana Nayagan, Toxic, and Spirit are all said to be operating in the ₹450 crore range of production budget.

That’s just an introduction, and many other films incliuduing Shahrukh’s next and Salman’s next are being made with a nearly ₹300 crores budget only. A hit can create history. A miss can shake entire production houses. Hope everything goes well in these high-stake games.